Prevalence, and Microbiological and Clinical Characteristics of Elizabethkingia Isolates from a tertiary hospital in Jiangxi Province, China

Abstract

Background Elizabethkingia infections have gradually become life-threatening hospital-acquired infections worldwide with increasing morbidity, multidrug resistance, and poor prognosis. However, information on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of Elizabethkingia infections in mainland China is limited. The aim of this study was to analyze the molecular and clinical characteristics, and drug susceptibility of clinical Elizabethkingia isolates from a hospital in Jiangxi Province, China. Results The mean age of the patients was 61 years (excluding one 13-day-old infant) and 74.8% were male. In total, 85.4% of patients admitted to Intensive Care Unit were infected with Elizabethkingia. COVID-19, respiratory disease, and central venous catheterization rates were significantly different (P <0.05) between the surviving and dying groups. Sequencing of 103 isolates identified 92 strains of Elizabethkingia anopheles, eight strains of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, two strains of Elizabethkingia bruuniana, and one strain of Elizabethkingia ursingii. The Vitek MS had a correct identification rate of 87% for E. anopheles. More than 90% of the Elizabethkingia isolates were susceptible to minocycline, but resistant to other drugs, including ceftazidime, aztreonam, and imipenem. Resistance genotype analysis showed that blaBlaB and blaCME were highly prevalent in the Elizabethkingia isolates. Molecular typing revealed 29 different PFGE types with clonal transmission between wards. Conclusions Multidrug-resistant Elizabethkingiaare beingdetected at increasing rates; a larger database is required for strain identification of this bacterium. This database could be beneficial for the subsequent determination of optimal antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of infections caused by different Elizabethkingia strains. Our PFGE model showed that most isolates had sufficient genetic diversity and clonal transmission; adequate attention should be paid to this pathogen.